Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police have issued a show-cause notice to Sandhya 70mm Theater for all its faults in the December 4 stampede that killed a woman and why the Form-B cinematograph license should not be revoked. The show cause notice must be served within 10 days failing which the management has no explanation to offer and an order will be issued. passed without further notice.
On January 18, 1979 a cinematograph license was granted to run a cinema theater as “Sandhya 70MM” at RTC X Road, Hyderabad. However, the premiere show of the movie ‘Pushpa 2’ was held on December 4, 2024 at around 9:40 pm and the police noticed that a large crowd had gathered to watch the movie. Glimpses of the main actors of the movie.
However, there was no prior notice of the theater management or the cast’s crew visiting the theatre. The theater management has not made any additional arrangements for security to manage the crowd and separate entry or exit arrangements for the artist’s team had already been made to the theater management.
At around 9:30 PM on 4th November, actor Allu Arjun along with his family and the main heroine of the movie came to Sandhya 70mm theater under his personal security and everyone gathered there tried to enter the theater with them. As the personal security team of the actor started pushing the public, the situation worsened as the theater was already crowded.
Taking advantage of this situation, a large number of people along with the actor and his security team entered the lower balcony area of the theatre. There was no staff to check whether the person entering the theater had a valid ticket or not. Therefore, Bhaskar’s wife (35) Mogudampalli Revathi, a resident of Shalivahan Nagar in Dilsukhnagar, and her son Mr. Tej (9) were suffocated due to the huge population and were immediately taken out by the police constable on duty. From the lower balcony, the general public and police sub-inspector L. Mounika and a young Anjaneyulu performed CPR. Both were immediately taken to the nearby Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital.
However, the doctor said that Revathi was already dead and advised to take her son Mr. Tej to another hospital for better treatment. The child was immediately taken to Kim Hospital in Secunderabad. M. Based on Bhaskar’s incident and complaint, a case was registered under Sections 105 and 118 (1) 3 (5) of the BNS Act at the Chikkadapally police station.
After the incident, the police also found the following lapses in the management of Sandhya 70mm theatres:
Sandhya 70MM and Sandhya 35MM theaters are located in the same premises and share the main entrance and exit. Both theaters have a combined seating capacity of about 2,520 people. There was no proper sign board showing the entrance and exit to show the way to the public coming to watch the movie.
The management encouraged fans to gather outside the theater without prior permission by putting up large flags. The infrastructure of the theater was not satisfactory and the lower balcony entrance grill gate was not an orderly property to cope with the public flow and was damaged due to overcrowding.
The theater management could not inform the local police about the arrival of Allu Arjun theater. Although it is known that the audience will attract a lot of attention, they have not made any plans for the entrance, exit and seating of the film with the main actors.
The management also allowed the filmmakers to install trusses and lights in the theater premises, which drew huge crowds. When Allu Arjun arrived, the management allowed his personal security to enter the theater with him, causing inconvenience to the public.
These security personnel blocked the free passage between the seats for the movement of people. There was only one door frame metal detector (DFMD) at the entrance, no women’s screen for women to walk through. Also it is not ensured that the arriving people go through DFMD
There was no proper system for checking tickets which allowed unauthorized entry and suffocation inside the theater due to overcrowding. Management does not have proper parking for visitors. Unpleasant incidents occur when security is not properly arranged to manage the crowd at the main gate.
Looking at the above, it is clear that the management has failed to provide a safe environment to the public coming to the hall. Renuka Devi of Sandhya 70mm Theater was asked to show reasons why the cinematograph’s license should not be revoked for all the negligence that led to the death of a woman.
The police said that if the explanation of the notice should be submitted within 10 days from the date of receipt, it will be understood that the management has no explanation to offer and the order will be issued without further notice.